What’s your story:John Hirbour exposed

Everyone that goes to Quinnipiac has his or her own personal story. That is what makes this university so unique.
John Hirbour, computer information systems major, is unique in his own way. Hirbour has worked a full-time job since his sophomore year, he speaks Japanese and is a computer genius.
Hirbour, a 22-year-old fifth year senior, comes from a small family that consists of his mother, father and sister.
At a young age, he learned about responsibility, because his father had a brain tumor and his mother had to be the head of the household.
In high school, Hirbour learned even more responsibility by joining the foreign exchange program, though which he lived in Japan for a semester.
On campus Hirbour is part of Christian Fellowship, the Pep Band and Branches. He is also an orientation leader.
In Christian Fellowship, he is a guitar player for the singing group Worship Team
“We sing fun songs, not traditional Church songs,” said Hirbour. “It is a lot of fun.”
He also sings at the university’s Catholic Mass on Sundays.
“I hold the Catholic Mass as something very special to me. Catholic Mass at Quinnipiac is like nothing else,” he said.
But, Hirbour’s musical talent doesn’t stop there. He also plays the tenor sax, the piano and the clarinet.
“My dad is a music teacher,” he explained. “I never took any lessons, but music is such a big part of my life. Music occurs at very happy times in your life like holidays, but also at really said times like funerals. It is very interesting.”
Not only is he very dedicated and musically inclined, but also a wiz when it comes to computers.
“I did a lot of production stuff in high school,” said Hirbour. “I was the head of the television studio. Computers were my hobby, but now I think that when you major in your hobby, you get a different perspective on your education.”
This hobby led Hirbour to what is now a full-time job at DSL Labnet. Since his sophomore year, Hirbour has been working 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week and is on-call on weekends.
“DSL Labnet is an internet provider where we provide high speed Internet service for small and medium businesses,” said Hirbour. “In other words, we are in a deal right now to provide Quinnipiac’s off-campus houses with Internet service.”
Hirbour has worked his way from being a customer service representative to being a network engineer.
“In other words, I write a lot of software,” explained Hirbour.
Even with all this experience under his belt, Hirbour is unsure of what he wants to do when he graduates.
“I am keeping my options open at this point,” he said. “I could stay here or go to Japan and teach English.”
To enter into this program which would allow him to work in Japan, he would have to fill out a 46-page application and have a college degree. Hirbour thinks he has a good chance of getting into this program.
“I have the advantage over the normal applicants for two reasons: One, I can speak almost fluent Japanese, and two, I want to go back to the small town I did my exchange in,” said Hirbour.
Hirbour is currently scheduled to graduate this May.